Norway Maples Go To Seed

Remember the Norway Maples that we looked at in April? Here we can see the self-same tree with fresh green seeds growing in the spring warmth. As kids, we’d refer to these seeds as “helicopters,” owing to their rotary flip-flip-flip motion when they come gliding to the ground.

If you’re interested, you can also revisit our exploration of the Crimson King Norway Maple trees from the Kirkwood Preserve.

Maples, Moon, Mulberries, and Mysteries

Good morning! Here are some of the dawn’s catch, including our waning moon framed by a silver maple (we’ll investigate the silver maple more closely in a separate post).

The second image is what I believe to be another variety of mulberry (so far I believe that there are at least two if not three or more types of mulberry trees growing around here). Based on the leaves, I believe this to be a white mulberry.

The third image is of the type of mulberry growing next to the cottage. This might ALSO be called a white mulberry, or possibly a red mulberry. I’m going to have to do some research to help learn the difference between them.

I’m still planning to show you more about the really great mulberries growing by the cottage. We’re also still working on the unidentified-possible-mulberry-possible-something-else tree (which might even be a quaking aspen) from a couple weeks ago. Zut alors! So many trees, so little time!

Also, remember the mystery tree from January that turned out to be an Eastern white pine? Not to be out done, the evergreens are in blossom as well which you can tell of the Eastern white pine seen in image four, and the oriental spruce Christmas tree I planted in January seen in image five.

Finally, we’re still working on the identity of the mystery tree seen in the final image. I wanted to share another update on its progress – it’s really filling out nicely!

Hmmm… so much for focusing more on my work and less on my tree blog!

Crimson King Norway Maple

Did you know that red maples are only red when the leaves turn in the autumn? Well, I didn’t! Red maples have green leaves, and the trees you see in these images are not red maples.

These beautiful, red-violet trees are another kind of Norway maple (which we have recently explored around the farm) called Crimson King Norway maples. What a great name!

I just figured this all out yesterday when trying to identify the row of trees along the road next to the entrance to the Kirkwood Preserve. More to come!

Arbor Day Tree Blogging

Around the world, people celebrate Arbor Day at different times, but the purpose is always the same: to celebrate the trees.

In my new home state of Pennsylvania, Arbor Day is celebrated on the last day of every April. If you are interested in learning more about Arbor Day, it’s history, and the many dates upon which different countries and states celebrate this special day, you can visit The National Arbor Day Foundation online.

What better excuse than Arbor Day to share a large selection from the plethora of trees that I have gathered for you at Arboreality?

I offer you these tree images in celebration of Arbor Day, and wish you all a wonderful, leafy-green, Happy Tree and Forest Day!

Norway Maple

With the leaves and flowers as guides, I was able to determine that the above former mystery tree above is in fact a Norway Maple.

There are several Norway Maples around the farm of varying ages and sizes, but I suppose I’ll always be partial to the one we’re viewing here.

I bet this tree is going to look SMASHING in the autumn! Come to think of it, I’m going to have a seriously hard time keeping up with leaf pressing now that I'm living in an environment dominated by deciduous trees as opposed to evergreens.

Back in Washington, I used to run around to different parking lots in the Seattle area to collect some of the prime autumn leaves in reds and pinks and burgundies; I have a feeling that around here all I’ll have to do is watch and wait for the wind to blow!

Sunrise Surprises

As I mentioned the other day, there is something new to see each sunrise around here, and this morning was no exception.

First off, hello moon!

You might recognize the bright greenery in the foreground of the first three images belonging to one of the many mystery trees we’ve been exploring. I am now even more confident that this is some type of maple, given the shape of the leaves. I’ve seen a few different maples around here, and I’ll be sure to share more with you in the future.

Our next door neighbors had an Easter egg hunt for their grandkids, and this morning I found “number 30” for their granddaughter hiding in the blossoms of one of the fruit trees along the driveway!

Next to the fruit tree we have another blossoming tree which only yesterday was covered in tiny pink buds. This one, I believe, is a type of wild cherry (although I may be mixing them up).

It’s getting hard to keep up with all this tree activity around the farm. I fear we may have an arboreal backlog!

Tree blossom boogie!

With every sunrise a new shade of pink or green or yellow emerges on the trees and across the farm. These colors temper with the passing of the day to awaken an entirely different color the next morning.

The white blossoms you see in the first image belong to a tree along the driveway, near my next door neighbor’s house. I’m guessing that this must be some type of fruit tree, but then again, I have an ornamental cherry tree in Seabeck, Washington that sends out gorgeous pink blossoms, but bears no fruit. We shall have to wait and see what this tree plans to do!

The second image contains the open blossoms from another mystery tree which we explored just last Thursday. Still no clue as to what it is yet, but we will learn soon enough!

You see what I mean about how rapidly things can change?

PS - If you want to see some more fantastic tree blossoms, check out Crystal's blog Wide Open Wonder for her most recent post Flowering Trees & Botanic Gardens.

Blossoms upon the trees, blossoms upon the earth

I simply had to begin with the image of the tiny white flowers on another as yet unknown herbaceous species. These little white flowers are reaching up all around the tree roots along the trees beside the cottage. The violets are popping up across the grassy fields with several other tiny ground-dwelling flowers.

You may recall me mentioning that next to the cottage we have a line of large trees, which includes the eastern white pines that I blogged about when we first arrive in Pennsylvania.

At the end of the row is this tree which just opened its blossoms. Like so many trees around here, I do not yet know its identity (yet being the operative word).

The final picture is to give you an idea of what the whole tree looks like. It’s tall and skinny, with lots of crazy hair on top! Once it puts out leaves, I’ll be able to use the tree identification guide to make an educated guess at its species.